Bill Gates No Longer World's Richest Man After Giving Away Billions

NEW YORK (By Michelle Nichols) - Bill Gates didn't lose his title as the world's richest man last year; he gave it away by plowing billions into his charitable foundation, experts say.

Forbes will release its 2011 billionaires list on Wednesday and Gates, investor Warren Buffett and last year's richest man, Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, will almost certainly be in the top three. The trio have topped the list for the past five years.

But it would be no contest if Microsoft co-founder Gates had not already given away more than a third of his wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which focuses on global health and development and U.S. education.

"It wouldn't be a competition," said David Lincoln, director of global valuations at wealth research firm Wealth-X. "(Gates) would have a comfortable margin if he had never discovered philanthropy."

Lincoln said Gates was currently worth about $49 billion, behind Slim, whose fortune he estimated at $60 billion. Buffett, also a philanthropist, is now worth some $47 billion.

But had Gates not given away any money, he would be worth $88 billion, Lincoln said.
Gates and his wife Melinda have so far given $28 billion to their foundation, the largest in the United States.

Forbes' 2010 billionaires list put Gates' fortune at $53 billion, but he was knocked into second spot by Slim's $53.5 billion, losing the crown for only the second time since 1995.
Slim has said businessmen do more good by creating jobs and wealth through investment, "not by being Santa

Claus," and while he has still pledged several billion dollars to charity, his efforts have been a fraction of Gates' philanthropy.

Buffett, who Forbes ranked as the third richest man in the world last year with $47 billion, has also pledged almost all of his fortune to the Gates Foundation and has given $8 billion to the organization since 2006.

But Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc has fared better than Gates' Microsoft. Microsoft shares now trade about where they were a decade ago, while Berkshire shares have roughly doubled. Since the end of 2009, Microsoft shares have fallen 16 percent, while Berkshire shares are up 29 percent. Slim's major companies, which include Mexico's former state telecoms monopoly Telmex, have also seen gains in their stock prices.

"DRAMATIC" PHILANTHROPIC INFLUENCE

Gates and Buffett have joined forces to encourage other billionaires to publicly pledge to give away at least 50 percent of their wealth during their lifetimes or upon their death as part of a campaign called The Giving Pledge.
Glen Macdonald, president of the Wealth and Giving Forum, said Gates' philanthropy had influenced the way other rich people in the United States approach their own philanthropy.

"Encouraging people and leading by example -- there's no question that's going to have influence on people's giving patterns," said Macdonald. "They are going to give sooner and they are going to give in greater amounts."

But Macdonald, whose group has advised 600 wealthy U.S. families on their philanthropy, disagrees with the public nature of The Giving Pledge, which requires billionaires to release a letter explaining their intentions.

So far 59 billionaires have joined The Giving Pledge, publishing their letter at www.givingpledge.org. The campaign does not accept any money nor tell people how to give away their wealth, it just asks for a moral commitment.

Paul Schervish, director of the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College, said Gates' influence had been "dramatic" and likened philanthropy to a gem, saying Gates was "changing the facets by learning and teaching others."

"He would be the first to admit that he is not the origin of the movement, of all the ideas in the movement, for which he is a leader," Schervish said.

"One of the things we're dramatically finding is (many more) people beginning foundations and endowing them at higher levels while they are still alive," he said.

(Editing by Mark Egan and Cynthia Osterman)

Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[Robert McEntee]

01:13 PM on 03/14/2011

hey bill, as long as you're giving it away, i could use a couple 100K...

[Jonathan Gaudette]

01:49 PM on 03/11/2011

After reading all those stories about what is happening in Wisconsin, this story helped me breathe a little bit.
It always puzzles me to no end - if you're the Koch brothers, how in the world do you feel good about what you're doing? How do you feel arrogant about it? The most basic common sense will tell you - throwing money around to crush people doesn't make you tough, hard, a fighter, a warrior. It's like the kid that stayed back two grades, now he's this gigantic 3rd grader, beating the shellack out of the other kids. There is nothing to be proud of there. Where's the risk? When you have billions of dollars, an entire security escort, and hordes of loyal lapdog followers (like the governor) obeying your every whim - there is no risk! There's no bravery, no courage! There just a couple of rich guys doing wildly selfish things!! All the bravery and courage were displayed by the protestors.
Sorry, that was a bit of a longer rant than I wanted to do. But hey - here we see Bill Gates actually climbing WAY outside of his comfort zone to do this - it's one thing to do philanthropy - that helps business in a corporate branding sort of way. It's entirely different to have the courage to go to other businessmen, billionaires, and ask THEM to give it away.
Now that, is something you can feel pretty good about.

[Cye]

06:48 AM on 03/11/2011

Its great to see that the extremely wealthy - such as Gates - are helping so many around the world. After all, there's only so much one person can eat, drink, wear, use, etc. At some point, all those extra billions become redundant.

[lucicano]

01:33 AM on 03/11/2011

amazing initiative the Giving pledge.. hope more people can join it!

[JustMe74]

11:12 PM on 03/10/2011

Regardless of what you migh think about Microsoft the company, Bill Gates the human is someone that should be celebrated as a hero in this country.

[Droid Noir]

10:25 PM on 03/10/2011

Truly beautiful! I am human and so I must admit that I am immensely greedy, regardless of that I will also acknowledge that by the example of both my parents I have realized that philanthropy does actually affect and better those people that are recipients. I believe that it is good that men such as Gates and Buffett, who are on the world-stage consider giving as something worth-while. You just wait until I have money, its raining goodness!

[jabailo]

09:20 PM on 03/10/2011

I just read on Bloomberg that the total net worth of all American households is $56 trillion.

That means that Bill Gates wealth, at $53 billion is about 1/1000th of the total wealth of the country.

But think of it this way. 1 in 22 people in America are millionaires.

A millionaire is 1/1000th of a billionaire.

[lonnywinn]

12:34 AM on 03/11/2011

1 in 22?

There are 350 people in the company I work for. Only one millionaire there.

[jabailo]

01:07 AM on 03/11/2011

It takes longer at K-Mart.

[scmucas2001]

07:52 PM on 03/10/2011

This article makes me smile in a way that little has been able to do recently. I like good news about good people doing good things.

[Zetesofos]

05:31 PM on 03/10/2011

When I was a little kid, I naively "idolized" Bill Gates for being a rich and successful person. Now, I can do so as a person who is starting to understand that money does nothing by itself, and that giving back to the world is truly a great thing.

[Zacky Ahmed]

05:17 PM on 03/10/2011

Bill Gates is setting a good example, I can only hope Mark Zuckerberg can follow the same path,
if you notice most of the time is the accidental billionaires who give away money,
not Wall street w....

[cheo]

04:01 PM on 03/10/2011

We have his wife, his father and his late mother to thank for his philanthropy. And I bet he feels pretty good about it, now that he's realized there's more to life than hoarding an ever-growing pile of money.

[Henry James Jones]

04:33 PM on 03/10/2011

I'm not sure that's fair. He's never seemed to care much about money at al,l he's certainly never spent much of it other than building himself a large house. He was obsessed with making Microsoft the dominant company in the software business, which made him very rich but he has alway consistently said he doesn't want his children inheriting lots of money as he doesn't think it will be good for them so he must have always planned to give it away at some point.

[cheo]

04:41 PM on 03/10/2011

I am just taking that info from a Newsweek interview some years back with Bill and Melinda Gates. Also from an interview by Bill Moyer with Bill Gates' father who, at that time was running his foundation.
According to Gates his mother begged him for years to be philanthropic with his fortune but he himself said he was too obsessed with making Microsoft grow and yes, making a lot of money to listen, and that she died before he "saw the light" (or something similar) on a trip to Africa with his wife. He said he would regret for the rest of his life that she did not live to see her wish come true.

[cheo]

04:43 PM on 03/10/2011

sorry, Moyers

[riverstoneannie]

03:48 PM on 03/10/2011

Forbes should adjust it's Wealthiest list. People like Gates should get to claim all their philanthropic money plus a small percentage of whatever they gave away. People like Slim should have to subtract the same percentage if they give nothing. The Forbes list could have the power to make philanthropy more prestigious and sexy if they so chose.

[mn gopher]

04:17 PM on 03/10/2011

Claiming philanthropies as part of their net worth is a great idea!

[thalius]

03:34 PM on 03/10/2011

Slim, how many jobs have you created in your poverty drug ridden country?
Don’t knock Gates, because he wants to give his money away. In his time at Microsoft, he created lots of jobs.
Slim, you can’t take it with you.

[BBLOND]

02:56 PM on 03/10/2011

OPRAH AND SOROS NEED TO GIVE AWAY THEIR MONEY ALSO.

[Cye]

06:54 AM on 03/11/2011

Oprah does give away a lot of money, but its always to her adoring, shrieking audience members. I don't know the extent of her other philanthropic endeavors, but it really makes me cringe when she gives away luxury goods (such as cars and necklaces) to people who don't need them.

[silentpurr]

02:53 PM on 03/10/2011

He may not be "richer" on the outside but he's richer on the inside. Thanks Bill for setting a good example.